Last week saw the return of the popular podcast, Events That Made Me, in which celebrity event planner Liz Taylor mixes business and life lessons with entertainment, as she welcomes a host of famous faces to a 30-minute podcast conversation. Guests include business gurus to actors, singers, TV presenters and internet sensations, all of whom share the pivotal moments and personal key events that have shaped their lives.
Season four kicked off on Thursday with actress and singer Claire Sweeney who talks of her delight at manifesting her ‘dream job’ just this week, as she returns to “soapland” as Cassandra Plummer in Coronation Steet. When discussing not knowing how long the role will last, she said: “I have never taken anything for granted in my life. If I do this short stint, I’ve worked with Maureen Lipman. Dame Maureen Lipman! I’ve worked with Alan Halsall, who’s the most sensational actor. I’ve walked along the Cobbles. The other day I saw Audrey getting into a taxi for a scene. I was beside myself. So, if I just do this short stint, what a wonderful opportunity, and who knows?”
Plus, how Big Brother, which returns to screens this autumn, was a defining moment in terms of career opportunities: “…it was a game changer for me. Literally a game changer. If I could have done a list of all the dream jobs I ever wanted, like a Saturday night show, being the face of Marks and Spencer, Chicago, an album. All these amazing jobs fell into my lap for sitting in a house for a week drinking tea. It was mental.”
Episodes of Events That Made Me air every fortnight starting on June 29, 2023, at 10am and can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or on podfollow.
Also, in the hot seat later in the series is perfumer and internationally renowned businesswoman, Jo Malone. The entrepreneur revealed the moment she felt ‘cured’ of severe anxiety brought on by the pandemic when she jumped out of a plane over Dubai. Famous for building a global perfume empire, Jo described the scene in which she and her husband Gary decided to skydive and move to that part of the world to run her latest business venture, Joe Loves: “I had been suffering tremendously from anxiety, I think from lockdown and Covid and all kinds of different things, but I was in not a good place to say the least.
“I’m sitting by the pool one day and I could feel it. I was very, very anxious. But I felt as if life was saying, okay, the adventure is here. All these strange kinds of crazy thoughts were running through my head, and I said to my husband, ‘what happens if we move to Dubai for a bit?’ I believed that and I still believe – actually, no, now I know – that there is a banquet of opportunity here.
“And so, as I looked up, I saw all these people jumping out of a plane, something I would never ever do in a million years. I said, let’s sign the deal. And let’s jump out of that plane tomorrow. And that’s exactly what we did.
“I swear this day, my anxiety was lifted. I’ve never felt it since and that was a year ago. I have not had anxiety since the minute I jumped out of that plane. And it was almost as though I confronted something within myself. I confronted the fear of fear. And I realised that fear gripped me and held me for so long and prevented me from doing so many things, I didn’t want it to have a hold over me anymore.”
During her in-depth interview with events guru Liz, the fragrance expert discussed some of the most difficult moments of her life, including her battle with breast cancer and the realisation that when she sold her business to Estee Lauder in 1999, she had actually sold the rights to her name. For people keen to emulate her success, and crucially for anyone with a learning difficulty, Jo outlined how having dyslexia gave her an advantage working in the world of perfumery: “I’m severely dyslexic, and often your senses become sort of slightly muddled. And from a very, very young age, I had this incredible sense of smell and I thought everybody could smell the way I could. I could smell what the doctor said. I could smell when it was going to rain. I could smell when my father’s canvases that I had whitewashed dry were ready to paint art on, so that power of smell for me was an important sense.”
Jo also had some wise words for budding entrepreneurs: “No one is responsible for making your dreams happen,” she summarised. “But if you want something, you have to go and grab it with your hands. You have a bank account for creativity. No one can access it, but you and I truly believe this, the only way that creativity like a currency will go up in value is if you use it.”
Joining Jo and Claire in season six line up are Rosie Nixon – creative brand ambassador and former editor of Hello Magazine, West End actress Jodie Prenger, internet personality and entrepreneur Scott Thomas and Emma Neville, philanthropist and wife of Gary Neville who also had some secrets to reveal. Including how overcoming the personal challenges of an early menopause has led to a new venture supporting women through their menopause. Emma said: “It was a really dark place when I was going through that menopause because I didn’t understand it, but I want to make it a really positive space to be in. I want to share and understand that it’s a really crucial time for ladies and simply to embrace that, because it’s about getting you back.
Since its launch, the ‘Events That Made Me’ Podcast has featured in the top 10 of the Apple Business and Entrepreneur Podcast charts. Now in its sixth series, the podcast has become a regular fixture for entertainment, arts, and business playlists. The eclectic blend of guests is drawn from a wide range of genre – from media to music, sculpture to sports, food to floristry, and business to LGBT+ campaigning. Catherine Tyldesley, Gok Wan, Ruth Langsford, Lisa Riley, Sally Lindsay, Eamonn Holmes, Antony Cotton, Howard Donald, Tom Kerridge, Katie McGlynn, and The Apprentice ‘Queen of Mean’ Linda Plant were just some of the celebrity guests to share the highs and lows of their road to stardom in previous seasons of Events That Made Me. Plus, special series and stand-alone episodes focusing on entrepreneurs, International Women’s Day, and LGBT+ Month are all still available via the Liz Taylor Consulting website click media and podcasts
